Vehicles, such as aircraft and motor vehicles, commonly include components that generate an audible nuisance (i.e., an undesirable noise). Not only is an audible nuisance distracting or annoying to occupants within the vehicle or people outside the vehicle, the audible nuisance may be an indication that the component is malfunctioning. The source of the audible nuisance is commonly due to noises, vibrations, squeaks, or rattling from moving or fixed components of the vehicle. Determining the source of the audible nuisance can be difficult. For example, other noises, such as engine or road noise, may partially mask the audible nuisance making determination of the source difficult. Further, the audible nuisance may only sporadically occur making reproducibility of the audible nuisance to determine the source difficult.
To address this issue, technicians and/or engineers trained to detect and locate audible nuisances commonly occupy the vehicle during a test run in an attempt to determine the source of the audible nuisance. These test runs can be expensive and time consuming. For example, determination of the source of a nuisance noise in an aircraft during a test run commonly requires the usage of additional personnel (e.g., technicians, engineers, and pilots), the usage of additional fuel, and taking the aircraft out of normal service. While this solution is adequate, there is room for improvement.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system for identifying a source of an audible nuisance in a vehicle and a method for the same. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.